Warm Winter, Faith

Early the next morning.

Stark woke in a warm bed, his head resting in the crook of Kraft's arm.

The last thing he remembered was the blizzard before he passed out.

He caught sight of someone beside him out of the corner of his eye and instinctively turned to look. A bare-chested man was lying there.

Stark thought he was still dreaming. He closed his eyes, opened them again, and looked beside him once more.

It was still the same man.

"Hey, mister!! Who are you?!"

Stark sprang out of bed in shock, pulling down the curtain that had served as a divider.

His shout woke everyone else, too.

Rienta was confused at first, then watched the scene with delight.

"You're so loud."

Roused from sleep, Frieren looked helplessly at the panicking Stark.

"I was kind enough to warm you up, and this is how you treat me, young man?"

Kraft stood up as well and took his clothes from in front of the fireplace, where they had been drying all night, and put them on.

Seeing that he couldn't sleep in anymore, Rienta began putting away the bedding on the floor.

"Warm me up?" Stark still hadn't grasped what he meant. The monk's well-trained body held his gaze.

"Mister, you've got an amazing physique!"

Fern stared at Stark in disbelief. She hadn't expected to hear something so shocking the moment she woke up.

"Master Stark?!"

"Ahem." Stark cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "That's not what I meant..."

"Hahaha." Rienta couldn't hold back his laughter.

Stark glared at Rienta, then turned to Kraft, who was already dressed.

"I mean, you've trained your body so well. You must be incredibly strong, right?"

"What's your name, mister?"

"Kraft, the monk." Kraft didn't mind Stark's earlier reaction and replied with a smile.

"Never heard of you." Stark couldn't find the name anywhere in his memories.

"You must be a famous monk, right?"

A hint of resignation crossed Kraft's face. Instead of answering, he said:

"Stark, you rest here. The three of you, come help me carry some food. My cart is nearby."

"I can go with you."

Rienta took out some ingredients and cooking utensils and handed them to Fern. "Stark hasn't eaten in a long time, either. Fern and Lady Frieren, you should stay at the cabin too."

The blizzard had weakened considerably, and the two found Kraft's supplies easily.

Rienta had explained his Personal Space to Kraft on the way. Seeing the cart piled high with supplies put his mind at ease.

"There's plenty of food."

Though the blizzard had weakened considerably, it still wasn't mild enough for them to cross the Shuvia Mountains.

They still didn't know how long the blizzard would last, but with these additional supplies, they no longer had to worry about running short in the Personal Space.

If they really did run out, they could retrace their steps to the city and stock up again.

Kraft said heartily, "It's wonderful to have met a mage. Now we can deal with these frozen ingredients too. Use as much as you like."

Rienta put all the supplies into his Personal Space, and the two headed back to the shelter.

Inside.

Fern had already put the rice porridge on to cook and was preparing the filling for the buns.

Rienta went over for a look. Fern was making two kinds of filling.

Braised pork and scallion, and chive and egg.

Stark had no idea how to do any of it, so he sat quietly by the fire with Frieren.

After some hesitation, Rienta abandoned the idea of making fried dough sticks.

Fern was almost finished. All that remained was to stir-fry the fillings and wait for the dough to rise.

Half an hour later.

The two had made enough buns, each about three times the size of an ordinary soup dumpling.

They prepared ten steamer baskets in all, with eight buns in each, and steamed them in two batches.

Together with the rice porridge, that should have been enough for everyone.

Since the main ingredients in the fillings had already been stir-fried, the buns would be ready to eat after about five to eight minutes.

It was important to avoid opening the lid to check on them while they steamed, lest the steam escape and affect the buns' texture and doneness.

When Rienta figured enough time had passed, he turned off the heat and called everyone over to eat.

The buns shouldn't be uncovered as soon as they finished steaming. Leaving them covered for another minute or two would keep them from shrinking and collapsing.

By then, Stark was starving. As soon as the buns were on the table, he eagerly picked one up with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.

"So hot! It smells amazing!"

Rienta watched him, a little speechless. Of course a freshly steamed bun was hot.

Besides, the one Stark had eaten was filled with braised pork and was especially juicy.

After handing out dishes of chili oil and vinegar, Rienta sat down to eat his own share.

The blizzard lasted a full six months before it finally ended.

When their supplies ran out, the group managed to get by hunting in the mountains.

Rienta had considered returning to town for supplies, but Fern had urged him not to take the risk.

After their first two days at the shelter, Rienta had rarely cooked, aside from the monthly feast he had promised Frieren.

Fortunately, Fern had learned most of his cooking skills in the meantime.

On top of that, he wasn't skilled at preparing wild game, so Frieren hadn't increased his workload.

Now that the blizzard had stopped, the group prepared to leave after their six-month stay.

While they were out replenishing the shelter's heating supplies, Kraft sought out Frieren.

"Thanks to you, I was able to make it safely through the long winter in the Northern Lands."

Kraft handed Frieren a pendant he had finished carving. "Please give this to Fern for me. She's a good, devout child."

Like Kraft, Fern had been raised by a priest, and her faith in the Goddess was devout.

Rienta was different. Like Stark, he was more interested in receiving guidance in martial arts.

Frieren took the pendant and looked at Kraft in puzzlement. "Why do you believe the Goddess exists?"

"You don't believe at all, do you, Frieren?"

Kraft smiled at the elf before him, who was still somewhat young compared to him.

Frieren explained, "Apart from the earliest age of myth, the Goddess who created the world has never appeared once throughout its long history."

"I used to think the same way." Kraft let out a long breath, picked up the pendant at his chest, and gazed at it, lost in thought.

"But now, I believe from the bottom of my heart that the lady exists."

"No, I should say I'd be troubled if she didn't exist."

"The people who knew of my deeds have all died. Even you, an elf who has lived for thousands of years, don't know I exist. I hope that when I go to Heaven after I die, the Goddess will give me plenty of praise."

"You understand how that feels, don't you, Frieren?"

"It's a cruel thing to have no one remember you. We've lived through countless years to reach this point."

Kraft's words didn't shake Frieren.

"Kraft, that's just wishful thinking on our part."

"I suppose so." Kraft chuckled softly and asked, "Frieren, is the existence of Heaven wishful thinking too?"